Ton Pentre reached the Welsh Cup Semi Final for the second year running as they dumped Oswestry Town out of the Quarter-Final to set up a match with Cwmbran Town on 5 April.

A domineering performance by the Rhondda Bulldogs saw them oust their Welsh Premier opponents from the competition in a match that Ton were in complete control of. And it wouldn’t have been an unfair score line had the Rhondda team netted more than their three goals.

Fifteen minutes in and Ton were in full swing as they started to buckle the Oswestry defence. The pressure resulted in Mick Maloney conceding possession to Andrew Hughes. The Ton captain ran goalwards and coolly struck from about 12 yards out to give the Rhondda Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.

The 400 or so home fans in the Ynys Park fortress didn’t have long to wait until they could cheer again. After a free kick taken by Ceri Harding was sent into the box, Ton defender Mike Jones scrambled the ball into the back of the net, using first his knee, then finally his head, as Danny Embleton in the Oswestry goals tried desperately to save after 20 minutes.

The Welsh Premier teams predicament could have been helped had they scored in the 37th minute when Carl Thomas cleared a free kick from the goal line to Karl Robinson, who was given another opportunity to whip the ball across the box. However, James Dean was unable to make contact at the far post and a chance was missed.

The action didn’t take long to get up the other end when nice control by Harding saw him able to send a perfect cross into the box. Hughes headed unchallenged but Embleton kept his eye on the ball to deny the Ton midfielder a second goal.

Just after the break Oswestry made two changes. James Dean and Kevin Kirkpatrick made way for John Black and Oswestry player manager, Dave Norman.

It appeared though that the substitutions were in vain, as it was a mistake by Norman that enabled Harding to run at goal. Excellent control by the “pint sized” Harding opened up the space that he needed to shoot. His powerful strike was enough to hit the back of the net even though Embleton got his fingertips to the ball.

Ton Pentre were now in the comfort zone with three clear goals and Oswestry were left with very little possession. Although they did manage to create a chance in the 58th minute but Mark Hobson’s shot was cleared before it even reached the 5-yard box.

Hughes and Harding linked as Ton continued to pressurize the Oswestry back line. The move finished with Hughes nearly scoring again in a game that he could have grabbed a hat-trick.

Alex Lawless was substituted to give the player a rest five minutes from time, after his eye candy skill had bewildered Oswestry up the left. Tom Billings replaced the player.

Oswestry finally got their first shot on target two minutes from time when Black found his way through on goal but John Howe, who had nothing to do all game, easily saved the effort as the Futureglaze sponsored team progresses to the Semi-Final.

Speaking after the match was Ton Pentre captain Andrew Hughes, “We knew it was going to be a hard game, turned out to be a little easier than we thought at the end but that was purely down to us. We worked hard, closed them down, created chances and three nil, I think, flattered them really.”

This fantastic result now leaves the town of Ton Pentre buzzing in anticipation for the next round clash with Cwmbran Town where the Rhondda Bulldogs will be up against arguably the best ‘keeper in the Welsh Premier and ex-Ton player Marty Ellacot. The venue for the match, as of yet, has not been decided but will be announced on the Ton Pentre website at tonpentreafc.com.

For those with digital television Ton Pentre will be featured on the BBC 2W series, ‘Into the Valley’s’ on Monday 24 March at 9.45pm. It covers the climax to the clubs Welsh League title run-in at the end of last season.

Ton Pentre’s next match will see the team back in cup action as they take on Neath in the Quarter-Final of the Cynffig League Cup. The match at Ynys Park will kick-off at 2.30pm.

Ton Pentre: John Howe; Mark Evans; Jason Roberts; Ian Davies; Mike Jones; Dean Morris; Neil Davies; Andrew Hughes; Carl Thomas; Alex Lawless (Tom Billings, 84mins); Ceri Harding.

Subs not used: Kevin Richards & Nathan Prygodzicz.

Match report by Rob Dowling.